


Valentine's Gift

by SkiaWolf



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Baking, F/F, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gift Exchange, Gift Giving, M/M, Romance, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-24 03:58:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9699479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkiaWolf/pseuds/SkiaWolf
Summary: Struggling on what to get Rose for Valentine's Day, Alisha seeks help from Mikleo, who is planning on using his baking skills to make something more thoughtful for Sorey.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my first Valentine's Day oneshot! This is based off what my friend and I did today for our boyfriends. It's actually a little longer than my other oneshot despite that being a sequel to 'Wedding Samples' and having art drawn for it, but I just really wanted to write the gift exchanging!
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

After long, tedious hours of a final lesson, the high school's bell finally rang for the end. Much to the teacher's annoyance, the students all sighed in relief and began to pack their things away immediately. It was Friday, so they were all looking forward to the weekend, despite freezing weather being predicted.

Mikleo looked up from putting a notepad into his shoulder bag when someone tapped his shoulder. He expected Sorey, but met eyes with Alisha.

“Can you do me a favour?” she asked, glancing behind her for a split second at an oblivious Sorey and Rose.

“What is it?”

“Let them go first.”

Mikleo raised an eyebrow before he called out to Sorey. “Hey, Sorey? I'll meet you on ahead, I've just got to help Alisha with something.”

“All right!”

Alisha and Mikleo watched as Sorey and Rose left, both taking their time to throw their bags on their shoulders and leave the classroom themselves, their walking still slow once they were in the corridor.

“It's something to do with Rose, isn't it?”

“Yes.”

“And Valentine's Day?”

“I'm struggling,” Alisha sighed. “Rose is… Well, Rose. She keeps telling me not to get her anything, but it's only a few days away and I _know_ that she's got me something herself. So I was wondering if you could help me?"

“Well, I'm about as clueless as you are as to what she would want. Maybe you could make her something?”

“That's what I thought of and wanted to ask you about.”

“Oh?”

“You said you were going to make Sorey a selection of desserts, right? Well, I, uh… I don't exactly want to copy, but I think Rose would really like that, too.”

Mikleo smiled, “It's not copying. I think it would be nice if we both did something like that together.”

“The thing is that I can't bake at all.” She let out a slightly embarrassed laugh, pushing hair out of her eyes. “I mean, I'm fine with cooking proper food, but baking? For some reason, it always goes wrong for me. I'm _definitely_ not as bad as Rose – I mean, you've tried her 'butter cookies'. But...”

“Ah. So rather than spend some time with me, you're just using me for my baking skills.”

“I can assure you that I do actually want to spend time with you!” Alisha exclaimed hurriedly, but smiled when she looked at Mikleo, his face expressing that he was joking. “It would be nice. We only really tend to be with each other as a group.”

“I agree,” Mikleo nodded. “So I was going to bake them after school on Monday, as they'll be as fresh as they can be by Tuesday and everything would have set for sure.”

“Sounds like a plan! Thank you for letting me join in with you. I'll pay for any extra ingredients.”

“I'll have everything, don't worry about it.”

Alisha smiled gratefully. She waved over to Sorey and Rose when they were outside, who were waiting by the school gates.

“What took you so long?” Rose questioned.

“It was just some homework I asked Mikleo to look over for me.”

She glanced at him with a knowing eye. Excitement was rising in her chest more and more for that upcoming Monday.

 

* * *

 

 

“You were going to… Make this much on your own?”

She was reading a piece of paper which had recipes written in Mikleo's neat handwriting, marked with a page number in his recipe book (in case he 'needed a remainder', according to him). There were many ingredients laid out around them.

“I was going to make halve of what we were going to make, so just a small amount of each thing.” But Mikleo looked down at the worktop, a small smile on his face. “Besides, Sorey really adores my baking. I think the more I make for him, the happier he gets.”

“So… Cupcakes, heart-shaped brownie pops, cookies, fudge, macarons… We're going to make them fat.”

“Again, they're being split between them, so they'd only have a bit of each,” Mikleo laughed. “So how much experience do you have with this?”

“Well… I've made cupcakes before… With my dad. Don't laugh!” She looked at the bowl of almonds. “I definitely have no idea what to do with those.”

“I feel like you'll just be watching me most of the time.”

“I'll measure ingredients and everything.”

“I guess I'm your teacher for today.”

“Yes, that way I can walk away from this with more knowledge.”

Mikleo couldn't help but smile at that. “Right, to ease you in, we'll start with the cupcakes.”

Eager to prove she did have a _little_ knowledge, Alisha swiftly followed through with the process. It didn't take long at all to mix all of the ingredients together and, after adding in a drop of vanilla essence, pour the mixture into cupcake cases. They were utterly adorable and likely bought by Mikleo for this day; they were a light pink with white hearts decorating them. She placed them into the oven and turned back to Mikleo, whose finger was running around the leftover mixture in the bowl.

“Isn't that meant to cause food poisoning? Because of the eggs?”

Mikleo shrugged, licking his finger. “I've never had it from this, and trust me, I've done this a lot.”

“How on Earth have you stayed so slender?” Alisha ended up blurting out, before putting her hands over her mouth apologetically. “That slipped out, I'm so sorry.”

“No, it's a serious question. I run in the mornings and have a high metabolism, not to mention that I must burn calories from when Sorey and I-”

“I understand,” she interrupted quickly, face turning red. She and Rose hadn't been together nowhere near as long as Sorey and Mikleo had, and were far from being able to talk about something private so casually.

The icing was made for the cupcakes whilst they baked, as well as prepare the ingredients for the brownies. Alisha stared at the cupcakes with wide eyes when they came out of the oven. No matter what she and her father did, there was always _something_ odd about the shape, even if they tasted wonderfully. These were perfectly constructed.

“You just need to mix them well enough,” Mikleo said when he saw her expression. “Honestly, they're only cupcakes...”

The looks of awe only continued, however. She could hardly keep up with his quick movements with little thought around the kitchen. Though some time had naturally passed due to creating several different things, she was certain that if she had done this with anyone else, they wouldn't have been done in this amount of time. She also thought she might have let out audible gasps at how flawlessly he decorated the desserts. They looked just as immaculate as what professional bakers created.

“Have you taken any lessons?” she had to ask eventually when he was preparing the almonds for their last dessert, macarons.

“Not anything more than advice online and such.”

“I think you should really consider opening your own bakery, Mikleo,” she said seriously. “You're such a natural at this, and you have a clear passion for it. You haven't stopped smiling the whole time.”

“I have thought about it a lot. I just worry that it's an unrealistic goal.”

“Unrealistic? With your talent, it's definitely in your reach. Not to mention that with your love for it, it's something which would truly make you happy to work. I think it's perfect for you.”

He smiled at her gratefully. “Thank you, Alisha. It means a lot.”

The two had such a huge amount of fun together that it was a disappointment when they were finished. But at the same time, it was also very satisfying. The cupcakes were stored in a prettily striped box, the brownie pops tied with clear plastic bags and ribbons, the cookies and fudge in matching small bags and, finally, the macarons in romantic boxes designed for them.

“Thank you so much for this, Mikleo,” Alisha said, admiring their work. “I've always wanted to do something thoughtful like this for someone. I'm really glad that it turned out to be Rose.”

“It's no problem at all,” he replied. “Anything to help.”

Before Alisha left with her own desserts, the two continued to admire the work they had created, both thinking over the reactions of their partners the next day with excitement.

 

* * *

 

 

Due to Valentine's Day being on a Tuesday this year, the four of them resulted in waiting until after school to exchange gifts with their partners. The day dragged even more than the Friday had several days prior, especially when they saw other couples already giving out their own presents. But they were patient, wanting their atmosphere to be a bit more special. The four got on so well that going out together on this day could have only been the best idea for them, even if they parted ways later on to be alone. The schedule was exchanging presents before evening fell, followed by seeing a movie together. For convenience, the gifts had been kept separately in Sorey and Mikleo's houses so they did not have to carry them around all day. It was especially convenient considering that the two lived next door together. The only person who wasn't carrying a bunch of flowers as they exited was Mikleo.

“Poor Sorey, he's got no flowers!” Rose laughed.

“I did try once,” Mikleo explained. “But he forgot to put them in water and they died.”

“I'm just not cut out for getting flowers.” Sorey let out a chuckle, handing his own to Mikleo: white lilies, camellias, lilacs and orchids. “Your favourites.”

“What if my tastes had changed?”

“Well, have they?”

“No. Thank you.”

“And ironically roses, for the most gorgeous princess in the world!” Despite her words being spoke confidently, Rose was nervous and ended up tripping slightly, almost shoving the red and pink flowers right in Alisha's face. “Oh God, sorry!”

“It's fine,” Alisha said, laughing. She gratefully took them from her, admiring their beauty for a moment before handing Rose her own bouquet; azaleas, jasmines, violets morning glories. “And for you, as well. I didn't know if you'd like flowers, but-”

“They're so pretty,” Rose smiled softly, lifting them to her nose to sniff them. “Thank you so much.”

“I'm feeling left out, now,” Sorey said. Mikleo sighed, holding out his gift bag in front of him.

“Impatient.”

“Do you want those flowers?”

“Yes.”

“Then be nicer to me. I'm sensitive.” Laughing when Mikleo rolled his eyes, he peered into the bag, his face lighting up with delight. “Oh my God.” He pulled out the assortment of baked goods, mouth practically watering even whilst they were still packaged. “You baked all this for me?”

“Yesterday. With help from Alisha.”

“I love you so – Wait, you baked with Alisha rather than by yourself?”

“He did.” Alisha then looked at Rose, her face expressing an apology. “I wanted to do the same kind of thing as Mikleo, and-”

“Gimme!” Rose exclaimed, rustling her flowers slightly when she attempted to clap her hands together. She took the bag excitedly from Alisha, throwing her arms around her soon after she tried one of the cookies. “This is _so_ good! You are the best!”

“It's all thanks to Mikleo, really. I couldn't have done it without him.”

“What a sweet person you are,” Sorey said fondly, kissing him on top of his head.

“It was nothing, really,” he said, eyes looking away. His cheeks were slightly pink and he couldn't quite stop a smile forming from the praise.

“So here's yours!” Rose said, bending down to pick up the bag she had left on a bench. “I'm not very good at presents, though...”

“Rose, what are you talking about? It's beautiful!” In her hands was an elegant pink top, adorned with a lacy collar and made out of a silky fabric. “I love this, thank you.”

“Don't mention it!”

“And finally, yours,” Sorey said. Mikleo placed his flowers down gently on the bench next to them to take the bag off Sorey. “Sorry, it's not macarons.”

“I'm leaving you,” Mikleo joked, before pulling out a black box. Inside was a silver necklace with with three violet stones – the colour of Mikleo's eyes – gleaming on the bottom. A ring next to it matched. “Sorey...”

“Do you like them?”

“Yes, but… How much were they?”

“Uh, I had plenty enough! My job's paying well.”

“Are you-”

“Besides, I see this as, well, a promise ring for our future. Because I don't want to ever leave you.” He held up Mikleo's left hand. “Can I put it on for you?”

Mikleo nodded, unable to say anything in that moment. But perhaps silence was better anyway. The ring was slowly placed onto Mikleo's ring finger. He was only able to stare for a moment, having been so touched that he still couldn't quite form words.

“Thank you… Really, thank you. I'm so grateful.”

“No need to thank me,” Sorey smiled. “I had to show my love for you _somehow,_ considering I, unlike you, don't bake snacks that well. I'll put the necklace on for you as well when you're not wearing so many layers!”

“I'll look forward to it.”

“Ah, it was almost like watching a proposal!” Rose cooed.

“I'm in agreement with that,” Alisha added.

“We're still young!” Mikleo exclaimed, embarrassed. He cleared his throat, his gaze returning to Sorey. “So why haven't you tried any of your desserts, yet? I'm insulted.”

“I'm resisting because I have reservations booked for us at a restaurant after the movie.”

“Wait, really?”

“Really!”

“Thank you. I really need to get a job myself, I'm starting to feel guilty.”

“It's fine, I like spoiling you!”

“Crap, why didn't I do that?” Rose wailed, guilty. “I'm the worst girlfriend ever.”

“Don't worry, I've already taken care of that,” Alisha smiled. Rose was quick to perk up, hugging Alisha once again.

It was the first Valentine's Day that they had all spent together. And with how much happiness and adoration for each other, not just for their own partners, all four couldn't have hoped more that they would be able to have times like this together again and again.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I seriously need to write more Alisha and Rose, both as a couple and not. 
> 
> My second oneshot will be up tomorrow!


End file.
